In other words, does BYOD help or hinder worker productivity?

The easy answer, of course, is both. But CIOs need to tip the scales toward worker performance gains if they're going to endorse a BYOD program, especially since many poorly managed mobile than company-owned device programs.

Other CIOs may not have much of a choice with BYOD programs that act as a kind of rallying cry for people to demand certain tech gadgets at work. "The pressure on IT is intense," says Aberdeen Group analyst Andrew Borg. "The implied threat is, 'Give me what I know I can have, or I'll self-provision.'"

The silver lining, though, is that BYOD really does lead to net worker productivity gains.

Consider this likely scenario: A worker wants to turn in her corporate-owned BlackBerry in favor of her personal iPhone. She will enthusiastically personalize her iPhone with productivity tools and apps that deliver up-to-the-minute data, as opposed to the less-customizable BlackBerry.